Read Women discussion

Carol - wow, that's pretty skeevy. Thank you for the link.

Interesting article on 'passing' narratives
https://www.vulture.com/article/maria....

Rebecca Solnit on roses
https://lithub.com/rebecca-solnit-on-...

Alwynne wrote: "Interesting article on 'passing' narratives
https://www.vulture.com/article/maria....

Rebecca Solnit on roses
https://lithub.com/rebecca-solnit-on-......"

I got a 404 error when I clicked on the vulture link. Here's the one that worked, after searching. https://www.vulture.com/article/maria...
I will be spending the afternoon updating my TBR to include Caucasia and several others mentioned in this great, detailed article. Thank you! Thank you!

Short piece on Lucille Clifton's Generations: A Memoir being reissued soon by NYRB Classics:
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2...

The Ursula K. Le Guin prize for fiction will launch next October. The nomination period will begin 1 Feb 2022.

"Her estate said it wanted to honour novels that “reflect some of the themes and ideas that were central to Ursula’s own magnificent and beloved work, including hope and freedom; alternatives to conflict; and a holistic view of humanity’s place in the natural world”.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

I'm not an ideal poetry reader and my interest in insects generally focuses on how to kill them, but this review captured my attention. A new poetry collection by Fiona Benson entitled Bioluminescent Baby and sporting a lovely cover:



https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

One of my reading highlights last year was Buchi Emecheta's Second Class Citizen, it's now been reissued as a Penguin Classic and off the back of that there's a great article about her life and work here:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

Interesting article on why heroines are supposed to be beautiful

https://lithub.com/whither-the-plain-...

for those of us craving more laughter in our lives: ‘Delicious caper’ by Jesse Sutanto wins Comedy Women in Print award


https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

Thanks Story, a rather gloomy day here think there may be rain later so a bit of cheer wouldn't go amiss!

Alwynne wrote: "Thanks Story, a rather gloomy day here think there may be rain later so a bit of cheer wouldn't go amiss!"

It's been raining more or less non-stop here since mid-October so I know what you mean. I've got my SAD light pretty much taped to my head...

Sadly most of the US and UK papers are geo-protected, so not for me.

Sorry Michaela. I thought the Guardian was free to access from anywhere. The article was about the book Dial A for Aunties winning a Women's Humour writing prize.

Thanks Story, and no problem! I heard about the book, so will have a look.

Novels by women about grappling with chronic illness:

https://electricliterature.com/7-nove...

Thanks story

The shortlist for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation is out, 8 books from a longlist of 17.

4 novels, 2 genre-defying works that blend history, essay and fiction, 1 work of social history, and 1 collection of poetry.
6 source languages represented: Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Polish, and Russian.

https://warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/p...

The winner will be announced Nov 24

For those interested in Caribbean authors, generally, or in Jamaica Kincaid, specifically:

Next week on Thursday, 18 November @ 12:30 pm EST, CCNY's Black Studies Program presents a (free) webinar, Talking Stories: Celebrating the Legacy of Jamaica Kincaid.

Here's a link to the Eventbrite event.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/talking-...

(from the Eventbrite copy) This event features discussion by:

Kedon Willis is professor of Latin American and Caribbean Literature at the City College of New York. His research largely focuses on how contemporary queer authors of Caribbean heritage are complicating depictions of queer lives within the Antillean region.

Maisy Card is the author of the novel These Ghosts Are Family, which won an American Book Award, the 2021 OCM Bocas Prize in fiction and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and the LA Times Book Prizes Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review’s “The Daily,” AGNI, The New York Times, Guernica and other publications. Maisy was born in Portmore, Jamaica but was raised in Queens, NY. She is a graduate of the Brooklyn College MFA in Fiction program. She lives in Newark, NJ.

Naomi Jackson is the author of a novel, The Star Side of Bird Hill, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Prize, the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize, and the International Dublin Literary Award. The Black Caucus of the American Library Association named Jackson’s novel an Honor Book for Fiction. Jackson studied fiction at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She traveled to South Africa on a Fulbright scholarship, where she received an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town. A graduate of Williams College, Jackson’s writings have appeared in Harper’s, The Washington Post, Virginia Quarterly Review, Poets & Writers, and The Caribbean Writer. She is the recipient of residencies and fellowships from Bread Loaf, MacDowell Colony, Hedgebrook, the University of Pennsylvania’s Kelly Writers House, Camargo Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts, and Bronx Council on the Arts. Jackson is Assistant Professor of English at Rutgers University-Newark.

Claire wrote: "The shortlist for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation is out, 8 books from a longlist of 17.

4 novels, 2 genre-defying works that blend history, essay and fiction, 1 work of social history..."

This is a fascinating list. Thanks for sharing and highlighting its breadth.

Carol wrote: "Claire wrote: "The shortlist for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation is out, 8 books from a longlist of 17.

4 novels, 2 genre-defying works that blend history, essay and fiction, 1 work of..."

If you'd like to see the longlist of 17 with short descriptions of the titles, including their genre, I created a kind of reference post on my blog here:

https://clairemcalpine.com/2021/11/01...

Thanks Claire, I really enjoyed Yan Ge's novel, and I thought Mukasonga's was very powerful, and the Kawakami was a great novel for discussion and enjoyed reading it as one of our group choices. I found Stepanova's 'In Memory of Memory' a bit disappointing and ended up setting it aside but curious to learn more about the rest of the shortlist. I think it's my favourite prize.

Claire wrote: "Carol wrote: "Claire wrote: "The shortlist for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation is out, 8 books from a longlist of 17.

4 novels, 2 genre-defying works that blend history, essay and fict..."

Thank you - that's priceless!!

Morgan Thomas writes, in "6 Must-Read Books for Queer People During A Climate Crisis,"

"...When the forest burned, I lost that place of early affirmation, where I had first escaped gendered expectations. I grieved the forest as others grieved shuttered lesbian bars or lost cruising spots. I grieved for the forest as community.

Each of the writers on this list approaches climate change through a similarly relational lens. In their books, climate change is rendered quotidian — a disorienting reality, but also an accepted and wholly unsurprising one that can no longer be ignored..."

https://www.them.us/story/6-must-read...

(It includes authors who identify as men.)

Came across a recent interview with Louise Erdrich talking about her new book:

https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainm...

The story that was the basis for The Price of Salt

https://crimereads.com/patricia-highs...

Sarah Hall on Burntcoat

https://lithub.com/perspective-art-an...

For those who enjoy or are looking to explore new feminist retellings, Asian Review of Books has published a strong review of Song of Draupadi, a retelling of the Mahabharata by Ira Mukhoty.

Here's an excerpt:

Ira Mukhoty’s Song of Draupadi, a recent feminist take, stands out among such retellings thanks to two differences. One has to do with her focus on women in the story—instead of focusing on one central character, Mukhoty attempts to explore all important women characters; for a brief moment, she focuses even on the story of a servant girl too. And the other difference has to do with the form. When novelists retell the Mahabharata, especially as feminist retellings, they retain the curses and supernatural occurrences, the staple elements of “epics” which seem not to interest Mukhoty very much...



https://twitter.com/BookReviewsAsia/s...

Has anyone read it?

The best African books of 2021 (many but not all by women)

https://africanarguments.org/2021/12/...

Some very exciting (to me) books on this list.

Thanks story, it's a fantastic list!

Hannah wrote: "Thanks story, it's a fantastic list!"

I am so excited by some of the books on it! (I added the same ones as you did to my tbr.)

Story wrote: "I added the same ones as you did to my tbr.)"

That's funny, I don't seem to be getting your updates on my feed.

I'm also looking forward to trying the mbue which has been on my tbr for a while

Story wrote: "The best African books of 2021 (many but not all by women)

https://africanarguments.org/2021/12/...

Some very exciting (to me) books on this list."

Thanks for sharing this - very cool.

Hannah wrote: "Story wrote: "I added the same ones as you did to my tbr.)"

That's funny, I don't seem to be getting your updates on my feed.

I'm also looking forward to trying the mbue which has been on my tbr..."

I noticed none of my books added or rated/reviewed are appearing in my feed. The last one that seems to show up was Dec 3rd and I've read and added a lot of books since then. Yay Goodreads ( eyerolls! )

Thanks Story! Bookmarked the link, and will have a look into it later.

Came across some lists that might be useful for anyone planning to explore next year's fairy tales/retellings prompt:

https://bookriot.com/queer-fairytale-...

https://bookriot.com/must-read-fairyt...

Alwynne wrote: "Came across some lists that might be useful for anyone planning to explore next year's fairy tales/retellings prompt:

https://bookriot.com/queer-fairytale-...

https://bookriot.com/must-re..."

Wow! Thanks!! (I've recently joined a fairytale writing group and this list is a fantastic resource.)

Alwynne wrote: "Came across some lists that might be useful for anyone planning to explore next year's fairy tales/retellings prompt:

https://bookriot.com/queer-fairytale-...

https://bookriot.com/must-re..."

Thanks - I was thinking, for those of us who don't linger often in this space, it takes a lot of rabbit hole diving to develop an opinion on what appeals. And, on the other hand, my GR friends who happily dwell in fairy tales/folk tales/retellings most often, zero in with ease on what's well done and broadly appealing. Thank you, again.

Story wrote: "Alwynne wrote: "Came across some lists that might be useful for anyone planning to explore next year's fairy tales/retellings prompt:

https://bookriot.com/queer-fairytale-...

https://book..."

Story, I don't know if you've checked out the Into The Forest group here on GR but the active members and discussions are really a special lot and you might enjoy the focus.

Carol wrote: "Story, I don't know if you've checked out the Into The Forest group here on GR but the active members and discussions are really a special lot and you might enjoy the focus. "

I haven't! Thank you so much for thinking of me. I will check it out.

Excellent conversation between Margaret Atwood and Jane Goodall:

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture...

In the course of Googling Pacific Island authors and resources in support of our Q2 Challenge, I found this 2021 LitHub Reading Women Podcast in which the hosts discuss Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen and Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls. LLTFG author, T Kira Madden guests. It's 53 minutes, if listened to at standard speed.

https://lithub.com/t-kira-madden-on-c...

From today's LitHub, an interesting read, Voice of Rebirth: A Reading List on Being Indigenous in America, by Autumn Fourkiller. Her purpose: "This reading list, then, does not seek to establish Native writers as writers, nor is it a comprehensive list of all those who are Indigenous who are doing wonderful work. I like to think of it as a primer, perhaps, on writers to seek out at the beginning of your journey." I'm a baby reader when it comes to indigenous authors, so got a lot out of it. You do you. Note that it includes authors of all genders.

https://longreads.com/2022/08/23/indi...

LitHub's 2023 Most Anticipated dropped - 217 titles to peruse and get ready to put on hold at my/our libraries. I'm a fan of their synopses, as a tool for identifying titles of interest. (list includes male authors)

https://lithub.com/lit-hubs-most-anti...

If you're a newest-lit or ARC reader, what are the 2023 releases you're most excited about?

Book Riot offers "23 Great Books to Read in 2023" accessible here:
https://bookriot.com/great-books-to-r...

These are releases scheduled to drop between now and the end of June. One of the things I appreciate about BR is that they include some different genre releases that aren't on everyone else's lists. I was not aware of 90% of the books here, so my TBR is soaring in good ways. The article includes male authors. For ease of reference, below are (most of) the books written by female authors:

House of Cotton by Monica Brashears (Black southern gothic debut)

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns (debut. Johns is "a Nehiyaw aunty and member of Sucker Creek First Nation in Treaty 8 territory in Northern Alberta")(

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi (adult debut of YA and middle grade bestselling author)

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson (historical fiction by bestselling and multiple-award winning Black author)

Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt (horror)

A Living Remedy: A Memoir by Nicole Chung

Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H

Quietly Hostile: Essays by Samantha Irby

Drinking from Graveyard Wells: Stories by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu (a debut short story collection by Ndlovu, "a Zimbabwean sarungano (storyteller)".)

This Bird Has Flown, a debut romance by Susanna Hoffs This Bird Has Flown walk like an Egyptian to your local bookstore ...

Hell Bent, the sequel to Ninth House, by Israeli-American author, .

Age of Vice by Indian author,

White Cat, Black Dog: Stories by

The Faraway World: Stories by Patricia Engel

She Is a Haunting, a debut YA thriller by Vietnamese-American author, Trang Thanh Tran. Pronouns: they/she.

Thanks Carol, some I've come across but quite a few I haven't that sound really promising, particularly like the sound of 'She is a Haunting'.

Alwynne wrote: "Thanks Carol, some I've come across but quite a few I haven't that sound really promising, particularly like the sound of 'She is a Haunting'."

doesn't that look amazing? I'm not a great target for YA, but I'm open to it. You might want to check out her website. I'm in love.

Thanks Carol. I already have Bad Cree on my TBR, but added Drinking from Graveyard Wells: Stories. I might revisit the list later.

Ron Charles' collection of "reader pet peeves" is a fast, run read, and includes many on my personal list, led by "gratuitously confusing timelines." I'm not a bit bothered by italics, though, and was surprised by the fierce, broad opposition to it amongst his sources. I don't think I've ever heard anyone here on GR complain about italics, but maybe I just swanned on past it since it didn't resonate. Anyone? Anyone?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...

Ozsaur wrote: "Thanks Carol. I already have Bad Cree on my TBR, but added Drinking from Graveyard Wells: Stories. I might revisit the list later."

Ozsaur - I got notified of a giveaway for Drinking from Graveyard Wells, if you're interested in tossing your chance in the virtual hat.

I got notified of a giveaway for Drinking from Graveyard Wells, if you're interested in tossing your chance in the virtual hat.

I'm considering it. I'd feel terrible if I read a book given to me, and gave it a bad review though...

ETA:I checked again, and saw that there's only one copy. I think I'll leave it to someone less ambivalent!

Ozsaur wrote: "I got notified of a giveaway for Drinking from Graveyard Wells, if you're interested in tossing your chance in the virtual hat.

I'm considering it. I'd feel terrible if I read a book given to me, ..."

totally makes sense. The odds are not in our favor in any event, as you note : )